Making chemical safety an integral part of 5S in manufacturing

A company that produces sheet metal in Estonia has taken steps to protect workers from the dangerous chemicals used at its manufacturing plant by incorporating safety into a strategy aimed at increasing the efficiency of its manufacturing processes. The approach taken by the company is based on the ‘5S’ approach, the concepts of which relate to the efficient and effective organisation of workplaces and the standardisation of workplace processes.

With the active involvement of employees at all levels, the company has successfully introduced more efficient, safer working methods and systems for storing, using and documenting chemicals. Special attention has been paid to the many Russian-speaking migrant workers employed at the plant, and all new instructions and guidelines are available in both Estonian and Russian.

The article provides a general overview of occupational exposure to dangerous substances. It provides definitions, an introduction to the relevant EU legislation and basic information on how to identify and manage the health risks associated with dangerous substances in the workplace. The article provides an overview for beginners, and signposts the way to additional information.

Urs Schlüter and Gudrun Walendzik, The German Federal Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, Germany

Risk assessment for hazardous substances is a complicated issue for employers. Many, especially small and medium sized enterprises (SME), do not have the resources (knowledge, time, personnel) for sound risk assessments. On the one hand the respective European Directive 98/24/EC describes a minimum level of worker protection in Europe and Directive 2004/37/EC establishes stricter provision for carcinogens and mutagens in particular on substitution and preventive measures. Other Directives apply to cover for example fire and explosion and risks linked to explosion. On the other hand different systems of worker protection and differing systems of enforcement are in place in individual Member States of the European Union. In all cases the assessor needs information about the substance and the exposure that occurs. The employer is obliged to take measures to minimise exposure to hazardous substances. By this, risk shall be eliminated or reduced. Prevention measures have to be considered, in order of priority: